With Planning Board Support, Inn at Hastings Park Heads to BOS

Monday night was a step in the right direction for Trisha Perez Keneally, the Lexington resident looking to as an upscale hotel and restaurant concept known as The Inn at Hastings Park.

By at 3 to 1 vote with one board member not present for the vote, Kennealy’s concept earned a measure of support from the Planning Board, which recommended approval of a Preliminary Site Development and Use Plan, conditioned upon the execution of an acceptable Memorandum of Understanding with the Board of Selectmen.

To read the Planning Board’s full report, check out the PDF posted to your right.

The MOU is on the the Board of Selectmen’s agenda for tomorrow evening, a meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at .

“We’re very pleased that the Planning Board voted to recommend the project,” Perez Kennealy told Patch on Tuesday. “As someone who is a citizen of this community, I am in awe of the people who volunteer to serve on our boards. It is a lot of work and they take their responsibility very seriously. We’re grateful for all of they time they put in.”

Perez Kennealy also noted receiving an Order of Conditions from the Conservation Commission recently as she commended town boards for putting in long hours and coming to understand the project in terms of what her team is “trying to do on the site,” and how their business plan fits in.

Originally given a date certain of April 30, .  Perez Kennealy on Tuesday said she expects Thursday’s selectmen’s meeting will be the last step before then. 

In the meantime, those curious about the project can check out The Inn at Hastings Park’s website, where the development team has been actively posting video insights into the project plans.

According to Perez Kennealy, this kind of engagement will continue throughout the project’s progress, and would likely increase as the hotel and restaurant business comes online.

“I want people to feel a part of it,” she said, “And I think the best way to tell the story about the Dana Home property and what we’re doing going forward is for them to be able to see it.”

Article 34 seeks to rezone the Dana Home and an adjacent parcel to allow for commercial redevelopment within a neighborhood that's currently zoned for residential use. There has been some , along with some concerns about traffic and the impact on wetlands.